North Melbourne's 32-game winning streak over after shock loss to Hawthorn

North Melbourne's record 32-matchwinning streak is over after Hawthorn pulled off a massive AFLW upset.

The Hawks' 4.8 (32) to 3.7 (25) win on Friday night in Cairns is their greatest win since they joined the women's league in 2022.

The Kangaroos' sequence of straight wins is the longest in AFL, VFL and AFLW history. They had not been beaten since 2023, going undefeated in their 2024 and 2025 premiership runs.

Hawthorn's Jacqueline Dupuy said the feeling was "unreal".

"In my head, I was just panicking, thinking, 'How long have we got?' I reckon I looked at the bench three or four times in the last 90 seconds, just praying for the siren," Dupuy told ABC Sport.

"It was pretty unreal when it finally went. And to be able to look around at these girls I love so much and just see the sheer joy and feel that myself was amazing."

Hawthorn's win was made even more impressive given the absence of captain Emily Bates, who went down with an ACL rupture last weekend.

The triumph came off the back of relentless pressure.

North led by 10 points at the main break in blustery and humid Cairns conditions, but Hawthorn's Mikayla Williamson kicked the only goal of the third term, pulling the match to within three points.

Four straight behinds gave Hawthorn the lead in the last term for the first time since the first quarter. Cairns native Jacqueline Dupuy then kicked a goal to give Hawthorn a seven-point buffer at nine minutes.

But North was not done, with Blaithin Bogue kicking a goal against the run of play.

Inside the last two minutes, Hawks ruck Lucy Wales snapped the sealing goal.

"It's just a credit to the kind of player Lucy is. She's clutch. She is one of the most consistent players for us and I just feel like it was very fitting that she was able to kick that winning goal," Dupuy said.

North's last loss was the 2023 grand final against Brisbane. The Kangaroos then started the 2024 season with a win and a draw, before starting their historic streak.

Friday night's tally was also their lowest score since 2023.

It is a great start to the weekend for the Hawks, ahead of Saturday's AFL preliminary final against Brisbane, when they will also start as underdogs against the two-time defending premiers.

The AFLW victory puts the team just outside the top four.

"It's always tough to go to sleep after a game, and certainly feeling pretty jacked right now," Dupuy said.

"But I'm sure we'll get a rest and go up again in six days, which would be exciting to head down to Geelong."